KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court heard that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, pursued his own agenda by leveraging SRC International Sdn Bhd or 1Malaysia Development Berhad for personal enrichment.
Lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, representing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, submitted that Jho Low had planted agents within the company, among them former SRC chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, to execute his plans.
“They did not need Najib’s involvement. In fact, involving Najib might have constrained them, as the former prime minister would have insisted on propriety if he had been aware (just as he later supported investigations when the issues came to light),” Muhammad Farhan argued.
The submission was made during the hearing of SRC’s 1.18 billion US dollar civil suit against Najib and Nik Faisal, who remains at large.
The lawyer further contended that the absence of evidence linking Najib to the alleged misuse suggest that, if any conspiracy existed, it was between Jho Low and Nik Faisal, facilitated by the company’s directors and excluding Najib.
“In law, a person can only be held liable for conspiracy if he was a party to the agreement. One cannot be implicated merely for being the figurehead of the company. We urge the court not to allow the enormity of fraud perpetrated by others to create a scapegoat liability for Najib in the absence of proof,” he said.
The hearing before Judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin will continue on September 24.
In May 2021, SRC, through its new management, initiated the suit alleging that Najib had committed breaches of trust and abuse of power, personally benefited from company funds and misappropriated those funds.
The company is seeking a declaration holding Najib liable for the company’s losses arising from his alleged misconduct, and an order compelling him to repay 42 million ringgit in losses purportedly suffered by the company.
Najib is currently serving a jail term in Kajang Prison for the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit from SRC International. – Bernama
